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legacy of the people. To the founding fathers, especially Benjamin Franklin, a mere decade or two was considered adequate (hence, our laws in regard to patent protection). By the late 20th century, this concept had grown to include the life of the author plus a period of time to benefit the author's heirs. While I do not dispute that authors should be rewarded for their work in their lifetimes, I believe that HR989 is weakening the Public Domain concept by extending protection far beyond the life of the author. Would Dickens be as widely available today if Dickens' heirs still controlled his copyrights? Would Shakespeare be performed as widely if Shakespeare's heirs still demanded payment for every performance?
In 1976 we added another 20 years of protection to the then current U.S. copyright laws. In 1995, HR989 would add yet another 20-25 years. Does this mean that 20 years from now, when the publishing houses who have made millions on Hemingway and Gershwin have their copyrights once more threatened with expiration, will we again see an effort to extend copyright even further "for the benefit of the artists and their heirs"? Will free and public access to our cultural heritage be forever delayed in favor of monetary interests, and will R.w. Chambers be forever condemned to copyright limbo?
My interest in this subject is personal. I am a member of a volunteer group which routinely places Public Domain texts on the Internet for free - available to anyone who wants them, no strings attached. My interest is mostly in academic material, primarily Medieval and Classical literature; in short, the sort of works which do not make the best seller lists and are not likely to be reprinted. HR989 would seriously curtail our efforts to make available a wide ranging assortment of works to the public. We would be unable to post anything published after 1919 (the current threshold for Public Domain), and (because certain provisions of HR989 may revive previously expired copyrights) some of the items we have already posted would have to be withdrawn.
America is a country devoted to a free and open marketplace, of which the marketplace of ideas is probably the most important. Congress has already reached a fair compromise between the needs of authors to provide for themselves and their families and the needs of the people.
Sincere
Jbuglas e. Killings